Hi All -- Sorry to have been out of touch for so long. Work got really busy, for one thing, and what time I had for this sort of thing got aimed at finishing the theater up. I'm super pleased to say, that after just about 3 years of effort, the theater is now just about done! Still to do: cover the bass absorbers in fabric and install, sew and install the screen curtain, finish wiring the LEDs for the shelves, finish welding the equipment rack and surround/height ceiling hangers. Then, it will be time to load the collectibles up onto the shelves.
We're already "moved in" and are watching movies now, though. The very first "movie" was Baby Einstein: Baby Newton, the choice of our special needs boy. The first full movie was Pirates II. The mains (m80) and center (vp180), plus the subs (2xep500) are working and sound GREAT. The subs literally shake the chairs -- very impressive for a sealed box! And the bass is absolutely controlled and articulate. Amazing.
Also to-do is a projector upgrade. Right now we have a hand-me-down benQ 480 line pj (coming up on 20 years old) from my Dad. It served well, but can't compete with modern solutions. Worse, we are down-converting blu-rays to 480 and sending over hdmi (the only connection run to the pj) which is then is being transcoded to analog vga (the old benQ has no digital inputs) by a $10 plug adapter. The combination of an old pj, old bulb, rather dark film, and low-end transcode made for a pretty dingy picture. My plan is to pick up a Sony vpl-hw40es. The 45es has now been announced, so I'm watching to see how things shake out -- I doubt the 45 is more than an incremental step up, but maybe some deals on the 40 will surface. The first movie with the new PJ (and perhaps the surrounds) will be Episode IV.
Another note, since it has been some time since my last post: I had asked questions on the forum here a while back (which Ian was kind enough to address personally) about the role of the woofer cones in the m80, and had some concern that they were working over what seemed (naively) to be a narrow/limited frequency range. In a nutshell, it was the old question of whether the capabilities of a near full-range tower were irrelevant when good subs were also in the mix. Having some experience now with the speakers let me give some additional feedback on the issue. The woofers on the m80s have *plenty* to do, and are absolutely not sitting on their hands, getting lost between the sub and the midranges. They are absolutely pounding, and are very essential and effective contributors to the sound mix. The m80s are indeed enhanced by the presence of subs. But, in my opinion, the full range towers are by no means a redundancy when the subs are added. They have a fullness (even with the subs in both cases) that the bookshelves don't match.
Anyway, here are some pics of the progress. Hopefully I can find some time this summer to do a full writeup of the whole construction process. Sorry to say, I'll Probably still have a rather limited presence on the forums, as I just don't have the time. In any event, it is great to "see" you all again, and my very best wishes to you and those you love!
The Theater:
Reverse View:
Wall Panel:
LEDs on Stairs, before carpet install:
